Rehab and Community Care Medicine Summerr 2011 : Page 8

ACCESSIBILIT Y Home By Marlene Holder, PT, and Andree Gauthier, PT Reg (On) he third education session of the 2010–2011 Invacare Canada Seating Rounds was held In April on the topic of home modifications. During this session, three individu-als discussed their experiences of modifying their homes for accessibility. The insights into the consumer’s perspective were extremely relevant and valuable to all. Guest speaker John Compton, Access Manager at HME Ltd., provided an overview of barrier-free design. The consumer panel was composed of the following individuals: • Anita Kaiser, BSc, MSc in Rehabilitation Science. Anita shared her experiences of modifying a condo and building a home for wheelchair accessibility. • Brian Donato, Director of Hockley Valley Ski Resort. Brian relayed what was important in modifying his home for his discharge from hospital. He is a manual wheelchair user. • Karen Castelane, commercial lawyer in her home-based consulting practice. Karen’s son has a disability. She built a new family home after her son out-grew their initial home. Her son relies on 24-hour care and uses a manual tilt wheelchair. Home is the place where we should each feel comfortable, relaxed and have the freedom to move about as we please. Individuals and families who have lived in inaccessible homes can attest to the fact that rather than facilitating such feelings, these homes actually limit these necessary assets. Karen recalled her challenges in the home where she first cared for her son with special needs. “We spent all of our time there and it was small and dark,” she said, “like it was closing in on us.” Brian remembered how he felt when heading home modifications: Making it functional T from hospital during renovations. “It was frustrating,” he said, “I couldn’t get around. There were wires and drywall dust everywhere. If I could get one point across it would be this: Get it done early!” Each of the individuals on the panel had their own unique experiences. The following is an aggregate of their experi-ences and lessons learned. It is presented as a means of providing guidance and advice to others who may be embark-ing on this process. The exterior Begin by assessing the exterior of the home and all entrances. If there are multiple entrances, examine the pros and cons of each. Access through the garage allows entry and exit from the house without dealing with snow, ice or rain. This is clearly a huge perk during the winter months! Extra space in the garage in both length and width was re-ported to be an asset as it allows sufficient space for wheeling around vehicles. The panel members suggested considering the benefits of a three-car garage, as the extra space permits the use of the side lift of an accessible van without moving a second vehicle. The type of vehicle should also be considered when designing the garage as an oversized garage door may be required for a full-size van. All of the entrances should be well lit and motion detectors were identified as an excellent tool. Ensure that the locking mechanisms are easy to use and the doors are easy to open. An automatic door opener should be considered as it may, in some cases, help with ease of entry. 8 www.rehabmagazine.ca S U M M E R 2 0 11